Self-ejecting compact disc case

ABSTRACT

A storage case for a flat circular Niger such as a compact disc includes a plastic box that has top and bottom walls and a front end which in open so that the flat circular maker may be inserted into the box between the top and bottom walls. A spring member inside the box adjacent its rear wall has one part that is fixedly secured to the box, and a movable part that when released can directly engage the peripheral edge of the flat circular member. The movable part of the spring member is normally stored in a retracted position behind a rib that extend inwardly from the top wall of the box. The top wall has a flexible portion behind the rib which is downardly depressible for releasing the movable part of the spring member so that it will then engage the compact disc and eject it from the open front end of the box.

The following application is a Divisional of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 08/585,168 filed Jan. 11, 1996 issued as U.S. Pat. No.5,695,053.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a package for distribution and sale ofcompact discs or CDs, and in which the buyer can store a disc bothbefore and after it has been played.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Compact discs are now manufactured, sold, and used in very large volume.It is a prevailing practice to package the discs on an individual basis.During shipment and prior to sale there are important requirements forprotecting the discs, with respect both to physical damage to the discitself and also possible contamination of the disc by dirt entering thepackage. It is customary to provide a shrink-wrapped plastic cover forthe package in which the disc is contained, leaving the ultimate buyerto first remove the plastic cover before taking the disc our of thepackage.

Further, the package must be functionally effective for the ultimateconsumer, not only for storage of the disc prior to use, but forre-storing the disc after it has been played. Ease of retrieving thedisc from the package, and later returning it to the package, areimportant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention a storage case for a flat circularmember such as a compact disc or CD has an open forward end and a closedrearward end, and has an ejection spring contained within its rearwardend. A mechanism is provided for normally storing the ejection spring ina pre-loaded but inactive condition. When it is desired to remove thedisc from the package, a hand-operated means is provided for selectivelyreleasing the spring so that it will engage a circumferential edge ofthe disc and forcibly eject it forwardly through the open forward end ofthe case.

The package is preferably formed of plastic material, with each of itsseveral separate parts being integrally formed in such a way as toprovide important elements and characteristics of the assembled package.

SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of both the package and itscontents;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the CD case with a CD inside it and theejection spring in stored position, the plastic top plate being shownonly in phantom lines to expose the interior parts, and a large arrowindicating where downward pressure may be applied to release theejection spring;

FIG. 3 is a perspective cut-away view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 2disclosing interior details of the assembly;

FIG. 4 is a perspective cut-away view like FIG. 3, but showing in dottedlines the action when the disc is ejected by the ejection spring;

FIG. 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on the jog line 5--5of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 6--6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 7--7 of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION (FIGS. 1--7)

In the drawings, the compact disc or CD itself is designated by numeral10, while the customary cover sheet or name plate that goes into the topof the package above the disc is designated 12. Numeral 14 indicates apamphlet or book of instructions or other information about the recordedcontents of the disc, and/or the manner in which the product and/orpackage should be used. The package as a whole is indicated by numeral18. The structure of the individual parts of the package will first bedescribed, then the method of assembling the various parts to form thecompleted package will be described, and thereafter the method ofstoring or ejecting a CD will be explained.

Principal component parts of the CD case 18 are a top plate assembly 20,a bottom plate assembly 30, and a spring support assembly 40, each ofwhich is an integrally formed plastic part having many-importantfeatures. A separate part is the dust wiper or broom 60, which protectsthe bottom side of the CD from dust. The assembled package is normallyopen on its forward end, once the shrink-wrap plastic cover has beenremoved.

Top plate assembly 20 has a top wall 21 and parallel left and right sidewalls 22, 23, which depend downwardly from the top wall. A springretainer rib 24 also depends downwardly from the top wall 21, andextends transversely along a portion of the rear edge of the top wall,as best seen in FIG. 1. The lower front edge of spring retainer rib 24is curved upwardly at 25, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The side walls 22, 23, have a pair of upper grooves 26 on their innersurfaces adjacent top wall 21, which are adapted to slidably receive thename plate or cover sheet 12. A pair of lower grooves 27 in the sidewalls are further from the top wall 21 and are adapted to receive the CDitself. Two pairs of protrusions or bumps 28A and one pair ofprotrusions or bumps 28B in respective ones of the lower grooves 27 areimportant in inserting, storing, or removing the CD from the case, aslater discussed. Farthest from the top wall 21 there are small ribs ortongues 29A formed on the inner sides of the side walls 22, 23, whichare used in assembling the parts of the case together.

Top plate assembly 20 does not in fact include any kind of a "plate",and that term is used only as a convenient means of differentiating itfrom the individual "wall" structures. It is necessary for the materialfrom which assembly 20 is formed to have a certain amount offlexibility, as later described.

Bottom plate assembly 30 is also an integrally formed plastic part, withtwo folded layers including a lower bottom wall 31 and an upper bottomwall 32. Upper bottom wall 32 has a rearward extension 33, with a firstportion 33a being angled somewhat downwardly and a second portion 33bbeing essentially coplanar with the lower bottom wall 31 (see FIG. 5).Extension portion 33b has small grooves 34 on its outer side edges, asseen in FIG. 1 in perspective and in FIG. 5 in cross-section. At therearward extremity of the rearward extension 33 is a back end wall 35,which rises perpendicularly upward from extension portion 33b, as seenin FIGS. 1 and 5.

The upper bottom wall 32 is partially cut away to save material, leavinga central section in the form of an X. In the perspective view of FIG. 1the width of both the lower bottom wall 31 and the upper bottom wall 32appears to be less than the width of extension 33b, but those widths arein fact equal, as clearly shown in FIG. 6.

Spring support assembly 40 is preferably formed as an integral plasticmember and includes both a spring support member 41 and the springmember 50. Support member 41 has a top wall 42 the length of which isequal to the external width of the top plate assembly 20 measuredbetween the outer surfaces of the side walls 22, 23. Support member 41also has a vertical rear wall section 43 that extends downwardly fromthe rear edge of top wall 42, and whose length is the same as that ofthe top wall. There are also side pieces 44 and 45, each of which isattached to both the top wall 42 and the vertical rear wall 43. Theseside pieces on their inner lower surface have corresponding smallinwardly extending ribs 46, 47, best seen in FIG. 1, and rib 47 is alsoseen in FIG. 5. Top wall 42 has a bendable section B, forming a button Bthat may be used to release the ejection spring. The material of theplastic top wall is preferably cut on two sides and one end, leaving theremaining end as a hinge for the button B. See FIGS. 1, 2, 5, and 7.

Spring member 50 has a fixed end 51 which protrudes outwardly from andis securely affixed to the side piece 44. The ejection spring is anelongated member with a central bent portion 52 and a free end or tabportion 53. For the stored position of the spring, the location of thefinger tab 53 is between spring retainer rib 24 and rear end wall 43,and immediately beneath the button B of the top wall 42. However, whenthe spring is released, operating end 53 moves considerably forward tothe forward position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4.

METHOD OF ASSEMBLING THE PARTS TO FORM THE COMPLETED PACKAGE

The parts are assembled in the following manner. Before placing topplate assembly 20 over the bottom plate assembly 30, the dust broom 60is placed over the upper bottom wall 32 in a location best seen in FIGS.1, 3, and 5. Top plate assembly 20 is then placed over the bottom plateassembly 30 such that the side walls 22, 23 of the top plate assemblyenclose both the ends of the dust broom and the side edges of the bottomwalls 31, 32. The tongues or ribs 29A on the lower inside surfaces ofside walls 22, 23, then snap into small grooves 29B in the side edges oflower bottom wall 31, which are shown in FIGS. 1, 5 & 6. The top plateassembly 20 does not cover the rear extension 33 of upper bottom wall32.

The next task is to attach spring support assembly 40. It is movedvertically downward over the rear extension 33 of upper bottom wall 32,but first making sure that the ejection spring 50 is bent underneath thetop wall 42 so that it can occupy its stored position between retainerrib 24 and rear end wall 43. The ribs 46, 47, will snap into engagementwith grooves 34 in the edges of upper bottom wall extension 33b, as seenin FIG. 5.

When the case has been thus assembled, cover sheet 12 is slipped intoupper grooves 26. As seen in FIGS. 1-4, the pamphlet 14 is slipped fromthe back end of the case into the space between the two bottom walls,above the lower bottom wall 31, being necessarily bent in that process.Half-circle cutouts 36, 37, are formed in the forward and rearward endsof lower bottom wall 31, in order to permit finger gripping of thepamphlet 14 when it is to be inserted or removed.

The CD may then be inserted into the case through the open front end,into the lower pair of grooves 27. As best seen in FIG. 3, the two pairsof bumps 28A then serve to position the CD inside the case, each pair ofprotuberances being so spaced that when the flat circular member isstored in the box, respective chords of its circumference are retainedby the pairs of protuberances 28 on the side walls. As seen in FIG. 2,shown without cover 12, a concave forward edge 70 of top wall 21facilitates insertion of the CD.

EJECTING THE CD

As best shown in FIG. 5, the bent central portion 52 of spring 50directly engages an inner circumferential edge of the CD. To eject theCD, the user simply depresses button portion B of the top wall of thespring support assembly. The operating tab 53 will then drop below theretainer rib 24, spring force will drive the central portion 52 ofspring 50 against the inner circumferential edge of the CD, culminatingin a kicking action by the finger tab 53 with sufficient force to ejectthe CD from the package. FIG. 3 shows a set of bumps 28B which keep theCD from flying completely out of the package. The CD can then be graspedand pulled the rest of the way out of the package.

RETURNING THE CD TO STORED POSITION

To return the CD to its stored position, it is simply inserted by handinto the open front of the package, and pushed in against the force ofspring 50. It pushed against the forward edge the bent central portion52 of the spring, causing the finger tab 53 to engage curved undersurface 25 of spring retainer rib 24, until the tab 53 snaps upward intoits stored position. FIG. 3 shows a set of bumps 28B which keep the CDfrom flying completely out of the package. The CD can then be graspedand pulled the rest of the way out of the package.

While the presently preferred embodiment of the invention has beendisclosed in detail in order to comply with requirements of the patentlaws, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that manyvariations are possible within the concept of the invention. Forexample, instead of using a flexible button B, it may be desired simplyto leave an opening in the top wall 42. It will therefore be understoodthat the scope of the invention is to be determined only in accordancewith the appended claims.

What I claim is:
 1. A self-ejecting case for a flat circular member such as a compact disc, comprising:a plastic box having parallel top and bottom walls, parallel side walls, a rear end, and a front end which is open so that the flat circular member may be inserted therein; a spring member positioned within said box adjacent to said rear end thereof, said spring member having a fixed part that is fixedly secured to said box, and also having a movable part selectively engageable with the flat circular member for pushing it out of said open front end of said box; means normally restraining said movable part of said spring member from engagement with the flat circular member; and one of said top and bottom walls being adapted to have a force exerted therethrough against said movable part of said spring member for releasing said movable part from its restraint so as to then engage the flat circular member and eject it from said open front end of said box.
 2. A self-ejecting case as in claim 1 wherein said one of said top and bottom walls has a flexible portion thereof which is downardly depressible for releasing said movable part of said spring member.
 3. A storage case for a flat circular member such as a compact disc, comprising:a plastic box having top and bottom walls, a rear wall, and a front end which is open so that the flat circular member may be inserted therein between said top and bottom walls; a spring member inside said box adjacent said rear wall, said spring member having one part that is fixedly secured to said box, and a movable part that when released can directly engage a peripheral edge of the flat circular member; said box also having a rib that extends inwardly from said top wall thereof; the movable part of said spring member being normally stored in a retracted position behind said rib; and said top wall of said box also having a flexible portion behind said rib that is downardly depressible for releasing said movable part of said spring member so as to engage a peripheral edge of the flat circular member and eject it from said open front end of said box.
 4. A storage case for a flat circular member, having top and bottom walls, an open forward end and a closed rearward end, a fixed rib depending from one of said top and bottom walls, spring means contained within said rearward end, said rib normally retaining said spring means in a pre-loaded but inactive condition, and means for selectively releasing said spring means so as to directly engage the innermost circumferential edge of the flat circular member and forcibly eject it forwardly through said open forward end of said case while said spring means remains in said rearward end of said storage case.
 5. A storage case for a flat circular member such as a compact disc, having an open forward end and a closed rearward end, spring means contained within said rearward end, means normally storing said spring means in a pre-loaded but inactive condition, means for selectively releasing said spring means so as to directly engage the innermost circumferential edge of the flat circular member and forcibly eject it forwardly through said open forward end of said case while said spring means remains in said rearward end of said storage case; the storage case further having top and bottom walls, a fixed rib depending from one of said walls, and wherein said spring means is normally retained by said rib in a pre-loaded but inactive condition. 